Threads Of Life

By Betty Bergstrom

When Wynne, my daughter, asked me if I would go with her to a display at one of our local hospitals called Threads of Life, my first thought was that I have better things to do on a Sunday afternoon.

And then I saw the look on her face and realized this was something important to her.

Wynne's husband, Mike, died unexpectedly over two years ago from a massive heart attack, at the age of 44. I was sitting across the room from her when the doctor and chaplain came into the hospital waiting room filled with Mike's relatives and gave her that terrible news.

I'll always remember the look on her face. And then, she spoke up almost immediately saying, "I would like Mike to be a donor."

It became most comforting to her when she received thank-you notes from the donor programs telling her that many people were helped. Because she and Mike had made this decision, someone could see again and others were helped with skin and bone grafts.

Wynne and I walked into the Providence Hospital event to discover an overflow crowd. We signed in and were given a ribbon that said, "Donor Family." We saw other ribbons that said, "Donor" and "Recipient."

I was amazed at the upbeat feeling in the air. There was a short program where two recipients talked about receiving their new hearts. We all laughed when one person said that her first thought when the hospital called and told her they had a new heart for her, was "I have to wash my hair," as she knew it would be some time before she would be able to do that.

We were amazed when a young woman told how she received her new heart and ten months later she had a baby -- something she thought would never happen. And we all fought back a tear when she also told how several months before her own transplant her mother had died and had become a donor.

And then, they unveiled the "Threads of Life". A quilt. A quilt of 7-inch squares all lovingly designed to honor special people. Families of transplant donors and recipients had made these squares. Some said "Thank You." One had a picture of a very young girl with the dates of her birth and death. Some were embroidered, another was a patchwork of different materials. All were beautifully done. I stood in awe of the love that quilt generated throughout the whole room. Donor families took pictures. Recipients smiled. Some of us wiped away tears.

This "Threads of Life" quilt will be on display at the hospital for a short period of time and then it will be carefully packed and FedExed to the next location. It is an emotional reminder of the donors who have saved or enhanced hundreds of lives. They've started a new quilt and Wynne is already planning a design for a square honoring Mike. I hope she lets me put a couple of stitches in it.

We left that room smiling, with a donated bouquet of tulips in our hands, a small green painted ribbon pin that we will wear and a warm spot in our hearts. I've made sure that my family knows of my wish to be a donor. Who knows, maybe some part of me may some day help one of those thousands of Americans who are on organ and transplant waiting lists.

Are you a donor? You, too, could leave your loved ones knowing that a part of you is still making a difference.